Education & Classes in Bon Air

Encore Studio's owner and art director, Karen King Flores, is a professional dance instructor certified through Dance Masters of America and a former apprentice of Robert Joffrey, founder of the Joffrey Ballet. Her graceful performances appeared in such esteemed companies as the Houston Ballet and the Richmond Ballet before she opened her studio's doors in the early 1990s. With 25 years of experience teaching dance under her belt, Karen and her talented staff of teachers—who hail from international dance companies, Vegas shows, and the Kirov in Russia—ground each dance class in fundamental skills and proper technique as they teach students to perform original, age-appropriate choreography. Their well-rounded curriculum includes instruction in jazz, ballet, tap, and hip-hop, a collection of techniques that falls in line with the instructors' priority of letting each participant have fun as they learn. Encore Studio's welcoming, noncompetitive environment allows talent to blossom without fear of judgment from an ambitious old tap shoe.

Praised in the Richmond Times-Dispatch for designing a 60,000-square-foot facility that resembles a country club as much as a shooting range, the owners of Colonial Shooting Academy strive to "capitalize on the social aspects of recreational shooting." The multilevel shooting range's 32 glass-paneled booths turn target shooting into a community experience. The range also hosts classes for every experience level, from the NRA FIRST Steps Pistol Orientation to a tactical-training program for law enforcement. At the academy’s gun shop, which resembles a high-end sporting-goods store, a gunsmith is on hand for repairs and a gun vault lets guests store their arms and their diaries. Facilities further extend to Mosaic Café Express, where chefs turn local, seasonal ingredients into dishes on their ever-changing menu.

For frequent guests, the academy offers membership options. The constitution membership, for example, grants privileges such as seven private shooting lanes and access to the lounge that sports leather couches, a pool table, and a fireplace below a flat-screen television that displays a digital fireplace.

Executive Chef and Mise En Place owner Christine Wansleben captains a staff of culinary artists and sommeliers who teach visitors how to navigate the kitchen during an array of cooking classes. Aspiring foodsmiths follow their instructor’s lead as they get their hands messy slicing, dicing, and mixing fresh ingredients to build tasty meals in a variety of disciplines, including Tuscan and Southern styles of cooking. The culinary wizards demonstrate easy, straight-forward approaches to fixing dishes and robust sauces, teaching students that knives are best used for chopping, instead of throwing at people strapped to spinning wheels. The crew also hosts parties for both adults and kids, during which participants craft meals to share in the school's bright, airy studio, or at an off-site location, such as the celebrant’s home.

Colleen Seely, a horse trainer and judge for local equestrian shows, channels her love for the gentle creatures into Fox Pointe Farm, L.L.C., which she opened in 2005. The 27-acre expanse houses two arenas—one lighted with professional footing and the other sandier than a hermit crab's beach house—as well as two barns' worth of stables, grassy pastures, trails, and a swimming pool. Within the tranquil setting, Colleen and her staff train and board steeds for showing at local venues or the farm's own school. Focus shifts from horses to riders during lessons for all ages and abilities, in addition to summer camps for avid athletes. Some overnight camps span an entire week, during which 10 girls bunk in the air-conditioned Fox Den cabin after a day of riding.

Shattered glass broken across a sidewalk is often the last witness to an act of destruction. But for Jenni Kirby, the founder of Tile One On Mosaics, these pieces of glass are the building blocks of mosaic art. She uses colorful chunks and chips of tile, stone, or glass to transform mundane, everyday surfaces. A simple table pops with the kaleidoscopic texture of marbles or shells. A fireplace is more than just a place to dispose of unpaid parking tickets when it’s framed with intricate, geometric patterns laid with coarse rocks or bottle caps.

A working mosaic artist herself, she has taught at the University of Richmond, among other institutions. In the decade since she co-founded the Crossroads Art Center, the 20,000-square-foot space has showcased work from emerging and established Mid-Atlantic artists. Ranked as one of the top independent galleries in Richmond by Style Weekly magazine, the venue hosts special exhibitions and displays pieces from more than 225 artists. Showcases are coupled with classes for students aged 5 through adult, and span painting, drawing, and jewelry-making along with less-common crafts such as calligraphy, shell art, and house carving.

Zephyr’s Way Stable cultivates respectful bonds between horses and humans by boarding and training young horses while teaching equestrians everything from basic riding to show-hunting and show-jumping skills. During lessons, ARIA-certified instructor Caitlin Ashton demonstrates how to communicate with horses through the reins, by reading the gentle beast’s body language, and by breaking the ice with a few Black Beauty references. The stable’s indoor arena permits lessons during inclement weather, and Caitlin also visits other farms to train riders and horses alike.